Budget brings changeable conditions to BOM

Parliamentary secretary to the Minster for the Environment Simon Birmingham, says changes to the bureau's funding are intended to continue the modernisation of the national weather service.

"People should notice continued improvements... which should ultimately allow the bureau to provide better, more timely and more accurate forecasts into the future," he said.

Super computer investment

One major investment in the Bureau of Meteorology is a super computer which will increase the computing capacity of the service tenfold from 0.1 to 1.8 petaflops.

Senator Birmingham says he can't divulge exactly how much the computer will cost but described it as "a huge sum of money."

"It doesn't just improve the prospects of forecasting extreme events and protecting life and property, but it is also important to a whole range of industries - tourism, mining, agriculture, all of whom are very reliant on accurate forecasting," he said.

Cuts to Queensland offices

Secondary radar services will be cut from the Cairns, Townsville and Rockhampton offices but this will not impact on forecasting says Senator Birmingham.

"They are quite old, they were historically used to track the old balloons that they used to do upper air levels measurements but they don't release those balloons any more so these radars are really no longer required," he said.

Senator Birmingham says he is not aware of any staff cuts planned for northern Queensland offices but says there will be a continuing focus on efficiencies within the bureau.